Coordinator - Consultant Development Programme and Network

Would you like to join a small but mighty charity, working as part of an inspirational team delivering real change for the environment? We are seeking a dynamic network coordinator who can recruit, train and support a pool of freelance orchardists across the UK. This is to enable us to deliver our work in new areas of the UK and support existing project staff.

About The Orchard Project

We believe that community orchards can transform people’s lives and help nature to thrive, which is why we work to create, support and celebrate these amazing spaces across the UK. Our vision is for everyone in our towns and cities to be within walking distance of a thriving, community-run orchard. Since 2009, we’ve supported communities to plant or restore over 700 orchards in the heart of urban communities, specifically in areas of high deprivation where there is limited access to nature. We also train local people in the skills needed to care for those orchards, ensuring they remain viable for generations to come.

These orchards are making a significant contribution to the country’s fruit and nut provision, improving health and wellbeing, building community resilience, nurturing skills and providing cherished, nature-rich, community spaces where everyone can feel they belong.

Our staff work with communities in hubs across England, Wales and Scotland, and we have a core staff team, based in London and across the UK.

Over the last 15 years we have grown from a London-based project to become the country’s national community orchard charity. We provide ongoing support for community groups, as well as running accredited training programmes in orchard management and forest gardening. Our project work is varied, and we work in a range of settings including prisons, schools, hospitals and in the diverse communities that we serve.

We offer a range of benefits to our staff, which include:

• Holiday allowance of 25 days FTE with flexible bank holiday usage and additional days off between Christmas and New Year
• Time off in lieu for additional hours worked outside of standard working days
• Flexibility around working days and hours, and the option to work from home
• Training opportunities and budget for each staff member to address identified training and personal development needs
• Pension contribution of 5% of salary
• A flexible monthly well-being budget in addition to salary to support an individual’s personal health and wellbeing and two personal days off per year
• In 2026 we will have a shut-down week in June to give the team a chance to reset as part of our commitment to a better work/life balance, this is an extra week of time off in addition to annual leave

Main Purpose of the Role

This role is working to deliver an exciting development programme supporting orchard enthusiasts into paid work. We had a great first cohort of participants in 2025/26 and many of them are already delivering work with The Orchard Project. The person in this role will maintain that network and match new freelance consultants with work. You will also be recruiting 15 participants for the second year of the programme, to be centred on Wales and looking at ways to encourage and support BPOC applications. You will be reflecting on lessons from the first year of the programme and evolving it to even better meet the needs of participants and ensuring it equips them to confidently deliver key activities for The Orchard Project (e.g. orchard design workshops, training and acting as trainers and assessors on our accredited courses, pruning workshops, orchard survey days, orchard planting and restoration projects).

Through continuing to build the scale and geographical scope of this network of consultants we will:

• Be able to outsource work to trusted individuals, helping us to grow our income
• Support more groups and orchards
• Support our current regional staff with practical days, this is an organisational need related to lone working constraints which we want to address
• Be able to have a presence in places where current staff are not based and widen our reach and impact - one of our key strategic objectives
• Develop a of talent and people – many of whom will be graduates from our accredited training programmes
• Develop a potential pool of TOP staff should we grow in the future
• Deepen our EDI work by offering routes to employment from graduates on our courses who are black or people of colour, this is a key objective for our new strategic plan
• Enhance biodiversity of new and veteran orchards

Scope of the Job:

• Run the development programme that will be delivered to the next cohort of freelance consultants. This involves working closely with our Training and Skills Manager and other Orchard Project team members as appropriate
• Carry out a recruitment process to recruit a pool of freelancers with a good level of orchard knowledge
• Arrange for members of the Orchard Project team to deliver the development programme, including work experience placements, whilst overseeing the logistics, attendance and monitoring of this
• Work closely with the Business Development Manager to review any new consultancy projects that are secured and determine whether we have suitable freelance staff to outsource this to (location, capacity skills etc.)
• Make improvements in The Orchard Project processes that enable us to deliver consultancy and manage the consultant network more efficiently (eg using Salesforce and developing on-line booking system)
• Support freelance orchard consultants as they deliver our consultancy projects, ensuring that they understand the project requirements, relationship management and that all agreed outputs are delivered to time, quality and budget.
• Carry out regular monitoring activities with the freelance group and our clients to assess the impact that the programme is having and provide impact and finance information for our funder.

Additional general responsibilities:

• Take part in relevant training
• Attend and contribute to staff visioning away-days and UK wide team meetings
• Share best practice with partners and other staff
• Any other reasonable organisational tasks appropriate to the running of a small charity
• Become an engaged member of our friendly and passionate team

Person Specification

Experience in:

• Managing orchards or other horticultural projects of quality to deadline, to budget and with minimal supervision which can be used to mentor others and assign them to projects (this role does not include direct delivery of planting or other orchard projects)
• Working with volunteers
• Organising and managing events for the local community
• Developing and maintaining relationships with partners, community groups, local authorities and other stakeholders
• Monitoring, evaluating and reporting including on budgets
• Using project management and IT tools to organise and simplify processes
• Profile raising using social media

Knowledge and Skills:

• Some horticultural knowledge would be helpful, particularly in relation to orchards
• A proven interest in environmental sustainability, sustainable food systems, and/or permaculture
• Cultural sensitivity in building relationships and engaging people from diverse backgrounds
• Excellent oral, written and presentation skills
• A high level of competence in Microsoft Word and Excel. Experience in Salesforce and producing on-line surveys and forms would be beneficial

Personal attributes:

• A passion for community orchards and a desire to share this with others
• A pro-active approach to sharing learning with other staff and partners
• An excellent advocate for the charity
• Passionate about the potential to transform communities and improve the lives of individuals through the project
• Preparedness to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in
• Flexible and innovative in your approach to delivering projects